Even in the Immortal Nexus, the Pure Land was quite detestable.
After all, the World Honored One's 'One Mind' was simply too absurd. Even Golden Core Perfected Lords were extremely wary of it and generally unwilling to antagonize the Pure Land.
Therefore, when Lu Yang raised this suspicious point...
Many Perfected Lords began to ponder, only to discover with astonishment that Chong Guang's method of ascending to a True Demon indeed shared a similar approach with the Pure Land.
Especially that divine ability to annihilate the original self.
Wasn't this just 'One Mind'?! It was just more tyrannical. 'One Mind' merely shaped you into the World Honored One, while the True Demon directly obliterated you.
This was highly suspicious.
Of course, this had been Lu Yang's plan all along. When he first created the Sovereign Heart-Demon Scripture by stitching together the World Honored One's method, he was already prepared to shift the blame.
And it just so happened that he had a grudge against the Pure Land.
Seeing that some people were wavering, Lu Yang immediately struck while the iron was hot: "Moreover, it seems only the Pure Land didn't show up this time. If you ask me, they must be feeling guilty."
"Not showing up means they're guilty, being guilty is an admission, and an admission makes it a fact!"
In short, it was the Buddhist Cultivators of the Pure Land whose desire to destroy him never died. The great Immortal Lord Lu was pure as jade, righteous and luminous, and had absolutely nothing to do with this matter!
Right then, Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue also spoke up:
"So that's how it is."
With a serious face, she said angrily, "I knew my disciple Chong Guang wasn't that kind of evil entity. Why would he inexplicably cultivate some Inner Demon method?"
"So it was the Pure Land secretly plotting to harm him!"
The next second, she turned to Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao: "The Pure Land is a member of the Righteous Dao, and the Sword Pavilion is the leader of the Righteous Dao. You must give me an answer regarding this matter!"
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao: "???"
What a bastard!
He finally saw through it. What Pure Land? This was clearly the Saint Sect putting on a double act with him here, and now they were actually pinning the blame on him!
However, before he could utter a sarcastic remark, he saw Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue turn to Lu Yang, changing her tune: "However, Fellow Daoist, if you hadn't created the Inner Demon, the Pure Land wouldn't have found an opening to frame you. My Saint Sect has even lost a Perfected One at Foundation Establishment Perfection because of this. This is your fault."
"Fellow Daoist's words are very true."
Lu Yang cupped his hands upon hearing this, his face full of sincerity. "To tell the truth, although the Inner Demon was created by me, its menace to the world has always left my conscience uneasy."
"Therefore, I have spent these years painstakingly researching a method to counter it."
"Now, I have finally achieved some minor success. I have three scrolls of Thunder Arts that can be widely taught to the world. Anyone who cultivates my Thunder Arts will possess the ability to eliminate demons and defend the Dao."
"That is excellent!" Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue nodded.
Not only that, but the other Perfected Lords present also revealed expressions of interest upon hearing this. After all, no one wanted what happened to Zhengde to happen to them.
Only Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's expression remained dark as he pondered internally: These two, singing the same tune, actually glossed over the True Demon incident just like that. They even proactively offered a method to counter the Inner Demon, making everyone else play dumb. Pursuing the matter further in this situation would only be bringing humiliation upon myself.
Thinking of this, he could only sigh.
Fortunately, he was also a genius at playing dumb. After adjusting his mindset, he quickly went along with the flow: "Oh? I wonder what kind of Thunder Art this is. Could I take a look?"
"Of course you can."
Lu Yang immediately smiled at this, knowing it was time to make his sales pitch. He gathered his divine sense, then scattered it, transforming it into scrolls of books.
The Perfected Lords immediately focused their eyes, only to see that the covers of the books were identical:
[Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Orthodox Method]
But soon, the group of Perfected Lords frowned one after another. Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao looked at Lu Yang and said deeply, "This is no method for eliminating demons and defending the Dao."
"From what I can tell, this method seems to use one's mind and spirit to sense an inexplicable place, and then invite an external spirit to possess their body to execute the demon-breaking art. Afterwards, it requires the consumption of blood qi, spiritual power, and even divine sense to make offerings. Furthermore, the stronger the spirit invited, the greater the cost of the offering afterwards."
How was this eliminating demons and defending the Dao? It was clearly collecting protection money!
This was exactly what the Sword Pavilion did in Jiangnan. Therefore, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao was very familiar with this routine and immediately saw through the sinister intentions behind it.
Yet, Lu Yang's smile remained:
"Fellow Daoist has misunderstood. Primarily, the demon-breaking method is not a simple Dao Art. In truth, it borrows the profound wonder of my Dao Fruit. Therefore, no one but me can learn it."
"The 'inviting a spirit to possess the body' in the [Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Orthodox Method] is actually inviting my profound wonder. I will assist them in purging the Inner Demon menace from afar. But surely I can't be expected to bear all the cost of casting arts from afar by myself, right? So asking for a little travel expense is perfectly normal."
"Travel expense?" Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao sneered.
How could he not understand? Compared to the 'travel expense', the cost of casting arts from afar probably didn't even account for three-tenths of the total. And that was assuming Lu Yang had a conscience! It was probably even less than three-tenths!
Lu Yang turned a deaf ear to this and continued on his own:
"Besides, I hail from the outer heavens, after all. The Dao Lineage I passed down, the Righteous Dao, was also established not long ago. Right now, it lacks a massive amount of spiritual materials for construction."
"To tell the truth, the [Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Orthodox Method] is centered around the Righteous Dao. Only then can it resonate with me, allowing me to cast arts from afar and help people break the Inner Demons. So, for this method to be effective, I also need you fellow Daoists to provide me with a batch of superior-grade spiritual materials. Here is the specific list..."
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao laughed out of sheer anger.
Lu Yang's entire speech was complete nonsense. He had entirely fabricated an excuse just to extort a batch of spiritual materials from him!
"Since Fellow Daoist has no sincerity, then there is no need to talk further."
"How do I have no sincerity?"
At this point, Lu Yang even put on a sickeningly aggrieved expression. "Fellow Daoist Gangxing, being righteous and luminous is my code of conduct."
"For the sake of the common people of the world, I can endure any hardship."
"But I just don't understand."
"We are all doing the work of the Righteous Dao. Why is it that the one who does the most suffers the greatest grievances? Why are you holding onto these few spiritual materials and refusing to let go?"
As his words faded, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao wasn't angry. Instead, he revealed an odd expression: These words... why do they sound exactly like my Sword Pavilion?
As a Great Perfected Lord of the Sword Pavilion, no one understood the Sword Pavilion's style better than he did.
Unlike the disciples below, most Sword Pavilion disciples below the Perfected Lord realm actually believed that rhetoric. But the Perfected Lords of the Sword Pavilion were actually very clear-headed.
Especially Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao.
He knew very well in his heart that the so-called Sword Pavilion style was essentially highlighting shamelessness—using shameless methods to secure massive rights and interests for themselves.
The shamelessness here wasn't simply not caring about face; it was a far more extreme logic. When paired with the Sword Pavilion's own strength, this was what allowed the Sword Pavilion to suppress the Dao Court and the Pure Land and become the current leader of the Righteous Dao. Strictly speaking, this was actually a method of development.
However, now, he had run into someone just as shameless as himself.
More crucially, the other party was also very strong.
This was awkward.
Therefore, after a moment of silence, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao chose not to continue the debate. He gave a cold snort, then simply turned and flew off on a streak of light.
With the Sword Pavilion gone, the Dao Court naturally didn't dare to stay any longer.
Lu Yang's smile remained unchanged at the sight, but he was already writing everything down in his mental little black book: Just wait. Tomorrow, I'll have Martial Uncle Chong Guang go cause trouble for you!
You don't want to pay protection money now?
When you're suffering bitterly from the True Demon and come begging me, the price won't be the same!
A moment later, the Perfected Lords present had mostly withdrawn. Only Lu Yang was left, along with Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue and Perfected Lord Iridescent Brocade from the Saint Sect's side.
Only then did Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue reveal a smile:
"Aren't you going to invite me in to sit for a while, Fellow Daoist?"
Lu Yang gladly complied. He immediately stepped aside and smiled back, "With Fellow Daoist request to visit, the Mystic Spirit World Realm is graced with your presence. I am naturally welcome you."